take me with you
by loveispeculiar
Summary: Betty has powers. She doesn't really want them. She'd rather have a roof over her head, but that's not an option now. When she meets a mysterious group of travelers in the woods, she realises that "home" might not be what she's always believed. [AU]


_Screaming. Whether it was the wind ripping through the trees or herself, Betty wasn't sure. She certainly didn't care. Her anger tore through the forest, and she begin to hear branches snapping, small trees thumping to the ground, the creaking of the tall pines echoing like menacing voices. Betty thought of her mother's words, more screams, accusations of being a "demon" and a "freak". She had said she never wanted to see her again. It had hurt. Betty didn't understand; she had a talent, she wasn't a demon. Why wouldn't they just listen? _

_Darkness was rapidly falling, the damp chill of October settling over the ten-year-old. After a few minutes, her fists unclenched, and the forest settled a little - the trees stilled, and Betty could hear the river in the distance, calm and constant, like always. Overcome with sudden emptiness, surrounded by the overwhelming loneliness of the darkening forest, and feeling now only fatigue, she sank to the damp ground, curled up. She closed her eyes, and wished it was over. She wanted to go back. She wanted her parents. She didn't want it to be like this._

The shadows of the forest were beginning to shorten and harden as Betty finally heard something human-sounding. It had been two days since her mother had kicked her out, which meant two days since she'd slept in a bed or eaten. A tinny echo of chattering voices rang through the trees - campers, probably. Betty knew what campers meant - a campsite, with warmth and food and supplies. The ache of hunger in her stomach was worsening, and she was getting desperate. A plan was already forming in her mind; a distraction, maybe. A blown away tent, a spread fire, a felled tree. Quickly and quietly, she picked her way through the trees, until she could see movement - people, and unfortunately, quite a lot of them. On the upside, though, a few missing things wouldn't mean very much. She threaded through vegetation, closer and closer, until she could almost pick out their words, and see what they were doing.

At a first glimpse, it looked like a scouts trip, but the leather jackets donned by older members of the group told her that wasn't the case. Still, though, there were children here, like her. So they must be safe. She needed to get closer, while they were still chaotically trying to put everything together; an established campsite wouldn't work, too many people would be unoccupied. Lifting her fist, she focused hard on a large piece of fabric which was being untangled - or, perhaps, tangled up - by two boys around the same age as her. Concentrating, she summoned a gust of wind - maybe it was her exhausted state, or maybe it was just bad luck, but she went a little too far, and the tent was swept up and away, flung through the air as though it were an out of control kite, before limply coming to rest in the branches of a tall tree a good twenty metres away. The two boys looked around, suspicious and confused, and then - he saw her. They made eye contact, and Betty immediately ran, barely missing trees as she threw herself forwards. She could hear a yell, an order from someone with a deep voice, and fast footsteps, running, but she was small and fast and scared and they were caught off guard. She scrambled over a snapped pine trunk - probably a monument of her outburst a few days ago - and kept going. She ran and ran, until her legs, shaking with adrenaline, stumbled over a tree root, and she landed face first. Her ears rang; as it faded, she realised she could still hear a few distant murmurings. All of a sudden, she heard a snuffling sound not far away. She froze.

There was a sudden movement to her left. Heavy breathing.

Through the trees, there was a whistle - it echoed around her, and the rustling stopped momentarily. She allowed herself a sigh - and then it was on her.

A dog. A tiny, fluffy dog.

Betty tried to push it off, but the dog was firmly planted on her chest, licking her face and hands and anywhere it could reach. For a moment, Betty forgot herself.

"Good boy!" She scratched the dog's head. She stopped sharply, though, as more footsteps crunched along the ground, probably only a few metres away.

"Hotdog?" It was a young boy's voice. Betty stayed as still as she could, but the little dog was intermittently licking her and spinning around looking for whoever called. It was only when the dog - Hotdog - let out a bark, that Betty pushed it off her and got to her feet, ready to run again.

"Don't leave." She looked behind her - it was the boy. Scrawny, dark-haired, and not particularly menacing. Betty relaxed a little. "What did you do to our tent?"

"Nothing," Betty snapped.

"But I saw you?" The boy ventured. Betty gave him a hard glare, and he sighed, and looked at the floor. "Sorry."

Guilt crashed over her instantly. "No, I did move the tent. I don't know how but I did and I'm sorry. I've just been here for two days and I'm cold and hungry and my mom hates me and it seems like you and your friends have stuff to eat."

"You could have just asked."

"But what if you yelled at me like my mom yelled at me?"

"We're nice people, I promise. I think you'd fit in. I can give you some food." The boy stepped forward, and held out his hand. Betty hesitated; after a few seconds, she accepted it.

"I'm Betty."

"I'm Jughead."

"Your name is Jughead?"

"My real name's a secret."

"Oh. Okay."

Together, they began making their way back to the camp, with little Hotdog bouncing along behind them.

At least Betty wasn't completely alone.


End file.
